


You're A Bigger Darling Than Any Harbor Could Be

by Jenthetrulysly



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010) RPF
Genre: First Kiss, First Time, M/M, RPS - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-09-15
Updated: 2011-09-14
Packaged: 2017-10-23 18:21:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/253451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenthetrulysly/pseuds/Jenthetrulysly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After thinking that his summer is ruined, Scott is surprised to slowly discover that this summer will be the best one he's had so far, with a little help from his good friend Alex of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're A Bigger Darling Than Any Harbor Could Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BFive0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BFive0/gifts).



> Dedicated to the lovely one and only Banana for her splendiferous birthday. I hope your day is filled with sunshine, unicorns and rainbows, babe *wink*
> 
> -Jen
> 
> Additional stuff that needs to be said: guys, be kind to me. This is my first attempt at RPS ever, just saying; all feedback is welcome as per usual.

“Cut!” the director yelled as the sky began to darken. With the disappearance of the sun for the day a slight chill settled down over all of them. It wasn’t cold per say, but it certainly wasn’t as warm as it could be. “Congratulations gentlemen, we’re done for the season!”

The production crew began to clap and cheer; Doug from lighting even managed to do a wolf whistle and the crowed grew even wilder. Scott ran a hand through his stubbly jaw before he joined in the others and clapped, cheering along like the best of them, despite feeling like there was a huge gaping bleeding wound where his heart was meant to be. It was a halfhearted effort at best, but who was really paying attention?

This was it. Filming was officially done for the next three months or so, as summer started. It also happened to be the first long break that he would spend not in Los Angeles, it being the last place he wanted to be. Summer hadn’t even started, but Scott could tell that it was going to be long, with plenty of time to spend reminiscing on what had been and what he no longer had. There was a plethora of issues here big enough before he could even consider the pain coming from the recent break-up. He felt hollow and broken, as if there was something missing, definitely in need of a distraction.

The gaggle of actors and stage crew had begun to dissipate and the air was thrumming with excited chatter regarding vacations and time to spend with the family. Threading his hands in his pockets, Scott began to make his way towards his trailer. Spending an entire day shooting in a dress shirt, tie and slack was horrible, and most of the time was spent in envy of his fellow actors who got too prance around in t-shirts, cargo pants and aloha shirts. By noon he could usually feel the heat more exquisitely than his workmates, and it had _nothing_ to do with the way Alex insisted on doing his own stunts, nothing whatsoever.

It didn’t take much for him to fall into step as he started to seriously consider his options. The break up had happened so suddenly, that it left him reeling, both emotionally and in a more practical sense. It seemed that the plan would not be eventuating. What was supposed to happen was he was going to catch the first flight out of Honolulu into LAX and step off the plane, where she would be waiting for him with a warm smile and hug and she would be thrilled to see him then they’d head off towards their favorite restaurant for some lovely-

The loud crunch of footsteps on gravel forced him to look up, and as it was he barely avoided colliding with Alex. Instinctively the taller man reached out and braced both his hands on the sides of Scott’s arms. The action was redundant because Scott had stopped before they actually connected but Alex still felt the need to steady him. It wasn’t like he was going to fall over, or anything like that. Through the taut cotton of his dress shirt he could feel the other man’s strong grip as heat leeched through the thin fabric.

“I’m not going to fall over any time soon, so you can let go.” Scott said absently, before he flicked his clear blue eyes, and was surprised to see that Alex looked about as happy as he did, which was to say, not much.

There was scowl on the dark haired actor’s face his brow was furrowed in what looked like irritation. Scott was usually not a betting man but in this case he would be willing to put serious money on it. Alex wore his heart on his sleeve and his face was always a jumble of emotions that the screen never quite caught accurately. Often Scott would look on in amazement at Alex’s intensity as he donned the role of Steve McGarrett. The camera usually failed to catch the intense glint of worry or register the full extent of the other man’s acting capabilities. That’s why when those articles in the entertainment magazines appeared stating that Alex was the wrong actor to play Steve McGarrett they really hit a nerve; the man was trying his damned hardest and these things were not helpful at all.

Anyway, it was a few more moments before he did let go, and Scott could have sworn that those long graceful fingers lingered just for a fraction more than was strictly normal, almost like a caress, the way they slid past the material of his shirt. The internal alarm bells started ringing when Alex remained silent, with that pinched painful expression on his face. Sensing that if left to his own devices Alex would be willing to stand out her under the darkening sky where the stars were just beginning to wink into sight. Alex was, but he _wasn’t._

“This is a first, you’re rather silent. What gives?” Scott queried as he started making his way to his trailer, unsurprised at the fact that Alex had started to follow him like a lost puppy. A few quick strides closed the distance between the external shooting stage and his trailer. With a quick flick of the wrist he pulled the door open before stepping aside to let Alex in.

“Hmm, this must be serious or personal, or both, on account that you refuse to say anything in public,” Scott mused as he shut the door to his trailer with a loud click. He watched as Alex went over to the chair closest to the mirror and sat down. Within a few moments Scott walked to the other side to the mini-fridge and extracted two icy cold Longboards before he rounded back. Like their fictitious characters often they would round up the day sitting in either one’s trailer with a deliciously cold beer in hand as they shot the breeze about everything and anything. It was a nice way to unwind after the stresses of the working day.

Scott placed both Longboards onto the dressing table before he leaned over to grab the beer bottle opener that lay on the other side, brushing gently against Alex’s left shoulder in the process. He mumbled a quick apology as he set to work opening the things. After six months of doing the same thing he liked to think of himself as some sort of master at it, but Alex (whilst in a better mood) managed to convince him that he would be a venerable master only when he could do it blindfolded with his right foot. Right.

“Okay, why the long face. It’s summer, a time of vacation and relaxation. I refuse to believe that people will not give you the time of day,” Scott prompted again, a little less subtly. He managed to get the cap off one and passed the bottle to Alex. Their fingers briefly touched and Scott noticed how they seemed to linger again, as if not wanting to let go.

It was a few moments before Alex spoke up. He lifted the bottle up to his lips and began to sip at the cold liquid delicately. 

“It’s Saxon,” Alex finally admitted, after taking a hefty swig of his Longboard to set it down none too gently on the dressing table. He lifted his hazel gaze onto Scott, willing him to understand. “He’s not going to be able to come out here.”

“How come?” Scott asked, as he finagled with the cap before finally getting it off, and taking a sip of the ice-cold beer. It was truly heaven in the heat, and one of the things he was going to miss for the next month or so. There was something very special about drinking Hawaiian beer in Hawaii. It just wasn’t the same in Los-

Abruptly steering his thoughts away from that train wreck, Scott concentrated on understanding Alex’s problems. It meant delaying facing his, but if he was to be honest he wasn’t _exactly_ looking forward to facing them head on. He had an entire month for that. A concerned look appeared on his face as he bit his bottom lip, before extending a hand and placing it on Alex’s knee.

“Hey, you can talk about anything with me, okay? No need to feel shy here.”

All that got him was a wide-eyed stare and at this stage he could feel the sadness radiating off the other man. Right, this was bigger than he had anticipated. “It’s his mother. She’s…had some issues with her health and isn’t able to accompany Saxon here. He can’t exactly go either…given the circumstances, mate.”

“Oh,” was all that Scott could manage. He raised the Longboard to his lips and took a long swing, shuddering as the cold beer slid down his throat as he considered what to say next. Fortunately he was spared for the moment.

“The doctors home in Canberra said that they don’t have the facilities to help her. She’s got to go up to Sydney where they can give her the treatment she needs,” Alex continued.

“What about going to meet him in Sydney then?” Scott asked, as he set his Longboard on the dressing table. “He obviously will need you there.”

“Nah, mate. Thought of that,” Alex replied, “anywhere I go over there the media’s going to be all over me like lions on the Savannah. I can handle it, but they shouldn’t have to.”

“Go undercover then, disappear,” Scott proffered helpfully. It was a testament to how much the Longboard was affecting him tonight that he had reached the belligerent stage after just one. But then again having skipped breakfast and lunch to try and call her, try and iron things out over and over again-

A snort from the opposite him sn

apped him out of his reverie, and he looked up to see a ghost of a smile on that stubbly chiseled jaw, “seems like the stuff the writing boys have been spewing out’s getting to you. Maybe you need to unwind.”

“We all do,” Scott answered evasively. “It’s vacation time, remember? Hey, it’s doable. You just need a disguise and maybe a good distraction. I think I can help with that.”

Scott was surging ahead without a plan or a whit of worry. The idea of a vacation in Sydney sounded good to him, and to be honest the mass congealing rapidly in front of him that resembled a plan was better than wallowing in pity and despair boxed inside his apartment. He had already told his surfing friends that he was going to be in LA for the next month or so. Having to let more people know about the break up was something that he was not looking forward to. Besides, there was a certain element of fun to be had in inventing disguises. It was part of the more artistic side of their craft, and something that he was drawn to.

“You’re coming to Sydney?” there was just a tiny lilt to that voice, and Alex had to desperately clamp down on the wave of hope that washed over him. The notion of having a third person as a buffer between him and all the issues back home was sorely tempting, but it was unfair to Scott, and in no way could he put his selfish desires before their friendship.

“You betcha,” Scott replied. “In 4 weeks time I’ll have all the surfers at Bondi missing me.”

“I’m sure you will,” Alex stated simply, and took another sip of his almost empty beer as he marshaled his thoughts. “Have you ever been to Sydney before?”

“I have, but it was more of a film promotional thing. Most of the time I was either holed up in a television studio or else speaking out across the airwaves. I’ve never seen Darling Harbor.”

“Hmmm. I spent some of the best years of my life in Sydney.” Alex mentioned thoughtfully, “Yeah, I’d love to show you around the place. There’s a vibe to it that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else in the world. But…”

“But _what?_ ” Scott queried.

“You said that you were going to spend the summer break in LA with Alexis,” Alex replied. “What gives?”

At the point Scott seized his Longboard in his hands and took a sip. Once the last drop hit the back of his throat he began to roll the empty glass bottle between the palms of his hands. He didn’t want to admit it because admitting it made it true and he didn’t want that, at least not yet. Give him a few days and he will be well and truly in the angry resentment stage.

Scott looked into Alex’s face, searching for any sign of possible ridicule. In seeing none, he decided to be honest and just come straight out with it. He had a feeling that Alex had just shared something very precious with him tonight, as usually the man was extremely reserved about his family. Not much was known about the elusive Saxon, or his mother for that matter, and it was a subject that the media had tried to crack for months unsuccessfully. He cleared his throat and swallowed, before he admitted the hardest thing.

“Alexis and I, er, broke up. It was for the best,” Scott replied quietly. Admitting it had been more painful that he had envisaged, because it was a statement of acceptance. By saying out loud he had made it definite and final.

Sympathy flooded Alex’s features, and he began to scratch the back of his head sheepishly as a grin broke out. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, mate. I guess this means that we both need a vacation, a little breather right?”

Upon hearing that, Scott managed a small smile. Anything to get away from the constant reminders of what had been was appreciated, and having a friend along for the ride was bound to make things much better. 

For the first time that day, he looked forward to the summer vacations. Grinning, he asked the question that needed to be asked. “So. Like, how’s this going to work?”

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Scott fled into the Departure terminal at Honolulu Airport with a gaggle of security forming a barrier between him, the media and the ravenous public despite the early hour. He hated the way the flashbulbs went off in his face causing spots to in his vision appear despite the dark sunglasses and the screaming from the female fans was doing nothing for his headache. He loved them but sometimes they could get a little crazy and raucous. Journalists tried to shove past the wall of human muscle but where unsuccessful, and had to resort to trying to yell on top of each other to get him to answer their question.

They reached the departure gate to the direct flight to Sydney, Australia. Ahead of him he could see the other media scrum dissipate, before the cacophony of yelling and screaming caught their attention. Scott counted exactly seven seconds before they ran at him like a pack of wild hyenas, adding to the media circus around him.

“Scott, can you tell us why you have decided to go for a vacation to Sydney?” A woman in red yelled as she tried to get her microphone through security but it was stopped. “Anyone you will be meeting there? Is this the-”

“There are rumors that you will be meeting up with Alex O’Loughlin for a vacation together, would you care to comment on that?” A man with a womanish voice cut across the other reporter, trying to shove a tape recorder in Scott’s face.

“No comment,” he replied, and both the scrum of security and media were stopped at the departure gate, and he had the first moment of peace since he stepped out of the car at the front of the Airport.

As he walked along the first class aisle he decided on a plan of action. The first thing he was going to do was yell at Alex for concocting such a cockamamie plan in the first place and the second thing to consider was how could he have just sat there in his trailer and agreed to the plan in the first place?

Spotting Alex lounging in the window seat he slid in and quickly boffed the man with the newspaper in his hands. The sitting man awoke with a start and glared angrily at him for five seconds before realizing who it was. The anger dissipated as quickly as it had come and upon the assessing sweep of Alex’s gaze over his striped fedora hat, matching suit jacket, pink shirt, shorts and moccasins, his face broke out into an all out grin.

“Hey.” Scott said in way of greeting as he sat down.

“Hey, yourself,” Alex replied warmly, as his eyes flicked upwards. “Took you long enough to check in. What were you doing, adjusting your hat?”

“Shut up,” Scott replied, but there was fondness in his voice. “Media was just crazy. They were waiting for me outside the house and followed me all the way to the Airport. Managed to lose them at the departure gate.”

“Ah,” Alex murmured in lieu of understanding. Then he added jokingly, “Did you go through the front or something? That’s just asking for it.”

“Seriously? Go die in a corner,” Scott shot back, mildly irritated but still amused, nonetheless. “I went through the back entry.”

“Very glamorous,” Alex said as he extracted his laptop and began to boot it up. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and braced them on the seat in front. “That’s even worse. You go through the side entry, where it says ‘Staff Only.’”

Scott took off his glasses and shoved them into the carry-on bag he had with him, along with the newspaper before he glared at Alex. “And you choose to tell me this _now_?”

“Better late then never,” Alex replied breezily as he began to try and connect to the Wi-Fi on the plane.

“And I’m stuck here for the next 10 hours with Mr. Helpful. Great,” Scott muttered, as he extracted his MacBook Air from his bag. He began to boot it up and try and connect to the Internet as well.

“I really thought you knew,” Alex admitted sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Scott said back, flapping his hand.

They settled into a comfortable silence as the plane began to take off. Scott checked his email and in three hours he had managed to email all his friends waiting for him in LA stating that he had some extra business to finish up here before he could head out, and he wasn’t sure when he would be able to head out. It was a white lie, but necessary. Besides, the ex was probably selling the story to OK magazine if what Astor was saying in her email was true.

Scott yawned before he slid his hand into his bag to fish his earphones out. In that moment he realized that he had left his headphones on the kitchen counter next to the vase of flowers. He hated the ones for use on planes because one had no idea who had used them before. They might have had body lice or something equally terrible.

He turned to the man beside him to ask for a set but halted in his tracks. Alex had fallen asleep with his head against the window, listening to God knows what on his computer. His head lolled closer to the brightness of the sunshine outside and Scott examined his sleeping features for a few moments, admiring the dark fan of eyelashes sweeping the high cheekbones and the permanent rasp of stubble on his jaw. In sleep the man looked much younger and more at peace. 

Scott watched the man sleep for a few more moments, before he reached over to pull the laptop screen down to close it, then reached a little further to the window to pull the screen down. Pinching the bridge of his nose he decided to give computer work a rest and watch whatever the in flight movie was. He turned his attention to the wide screen in front of him and turned on the movie function and had to stifle a laugh at the airline’s choice: episodes from Hawaii Five-O, the classic series.

Oh the irony.

The airline gave him a choice of episodes to choose from. Having no idea, he closed his eyes and jabbed a finger at the screen. He flicked through the titles in season 5 and in the end decided to watch one called “Pig In A Blanket” on mute purely based on the title, which sounded pretty stupid.

At first the episode barely held his attention; some cop got shot by a driver hyped up on speed and died. The character of Danny Williams was there beside him at the hospital, apparently held by some sort of life debt, shown through a series of very obvious flashbacks. The plot did absolutely nothing for him, up until the scene in the bar, where Danny Williams really jumped out of the screen at him. Enraptured, he watched the way the actor on the screen really absorbed his role.

He watched enough to finally understand why this was called a Reboot; there was Steve and Danny and of course there were similarities but it was still interesting to note the differences. There were no carguments and no emotional baggage – it was a pure police procedural but from what he could see there was quite a strong element of friendship there. Not to mention the subtext. Surely men in those days didn’t share that kind of understanding. Television in the 1970s was very different to how it was now, but from what Scott had seen he had the distinct impression that this show had pushed the boundaries, back in the day. He was distinctly intrigued at this stage, and made a mental note to go and find some more episodes to watch, maybe show one or two of the choicer one or two.

The episode had almost finished before he felt a pair of eyes on him, and looked to the side to see that Alex had woken up, and was peering intently at the program on his screen. An amused smile crept up on his face as recognition lit up his features.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Scott said absentmindedly, smiling.

“Yeah, you obviously really missed me.” Alex replied as he attempted to stretch the cramps out of his long frame. Sadly, despite first class seating, there was still not enough space for him. Lucky bastard.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“What do _you_ think it is?”

“Well, it’s our mother. She gave birth to us,” the grin on Alex’s face became all the more insufferable, and Scott sighed.

“I’ll ignore the repugnant metaphor you have going there. Why can’t you just say, ‘its Five-O?’”  During this, there had been the flailing of hands, just a touch. Still nowhere near Danno levels, but still enough to prove his point.

“Why do you have to be so literal? You’re meant to be the arty farty one.”

Scott had opened his mouth in response when a shadow fell over his right and he turned around to see a stewardess pushing a dinner trolley. She smiled benignly and after a few moments, recognized who they were. Scott became annoyed at the way her eyes roamed hungrily over Alex, taking in the slight bed head he had going as well as the tight stretch of his shirt over his muscles, the edge of a tattoo peaking under the rim of his shirt.

“Hi! Today we have a selection of seafood tortellini or roast chicken on our menu. What would you gentlemen like?”

“Seafood,” Scott shot back instantly.

“Chicken.” Alex replied slowly, but then added,  “Does it come with any rice or pasta?”

“No, sir. It is a just some roast chicken with a selection of spring vegetables-”

“Okay.” Alex cut across, “I’ll have that then. Thank you.”

Beaming at him like she was about to explode, the stewardess retrieved two sets of meals from the cart before placing the food in front of them. Before she went, she asked for an autograph from Alex, who gave it to her with the most bashful of smiles. Scott raised an eyebrow at this and after she left said with no amount of incredulity, “What, is she expecting to join the Mile High Club?”

With a nonchalance that really got under his skin, Alex replied breezily as he seized up his knife and fork then began to tuck into his meal, a lazy grin appearing on his face, “I’d like to keep this conversation PG-13, if you will.”

Scott snorted. “Oh that’s right. You think that milk is a reward for hard work and is some sort of sin. Forgive me, for being normal.”

“Uh-huh,” was all that Alex replied with, and he grinned at Scott while slowly chewing.

“Yep,” Scott replied drily. “I can see it already. We are going to get up to a lot of mischief in Sydney.”

"You, betcha mate," Alex replied cryptically. His voice held a hint of promise of _something_ there, and Scott was left wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.


End file.
